Like Sun on the Grove
by nekked
Summary: Kaya is a nerd with family issues and a gay fiancee. Nami is a genius kleptomaniac with confidence to spare. — Nami/Kaya; yuri
1. She Shines

**A/N:** _My first yuri; trying to finish some of the things I started earlier this year. _

_I don't own anything. Please enjoy~_

* * *

><p>"Who can tell me," Sensei enunciated with the squeak of the dry erase marker, "what the acronym ATP stands for?"<p>

There was a lazy silence, the majority of the girls only attempting to look like they cared by glancing at their text books and acting like they were following along. After studying the entire room to make sure nobody was going to answer, Kaya raised her hand shyly.

"Yes, Kaya-san," Sensei said, sighing in knowing, "I know you know. Does anyone out there _besides_ Kaya-san have any interest in the fascinating process of plant energy conversion?"

There was a nice, pregnant silence as the tall, dark haired woman stared out at her audience. She perked up a little when she heard light snoring coming from the back of the room.

"Ah. Nami-san."

Everyone turned in their seats to smirk at Nami, her orange mop of curls cascading down the sides of her desk. Drool leaked out of her pretty pink mouth.

"Nami-san, I don't know what makes you so consistently tired that you feel you must sleep through at least part of my class every day…"

Kaya cringed internally, watching their teacher walk with purpose over to Nami's sleeping figure.

"…but it needs to stop." She raised the pink slip in her hand high before bringing it down with a hard slap onto Nami's desk. The red head spasmed and looked up at her teacher like she was insane.

"Honestly," the dark haired woman muttered angrily before shuffling her way back to the front of the room, "girl's should be more attentive. Why, when I was in school-"

"Sensei," Nami drawled, wiping drool from her cheek, "you did the equation wrong."

The room went silent, everyone in the room holding their breath. Nami stood up clumsily, walking through the desks and taking the marker from her shocked teacher's fingers.

"You forgot to oxidize the arsenite after factoring in the sunlight," she explained in a sleepy monotone, unsheathing the marker like this was an annoyance. "It should look like this…"

The class stared in amused awe at Nami's apparently boundless gall. Not that this was anything new. Kaya especially was enamored with Nami's confidence, the way she commanded the space in everything she did.

Their teacher stood dumbfounded, watching her correct the equation for an oxidized microbe substitution. Half of them didn't even know what that meant, but they were sure as hell paying attention now.

A few giggles were expelled as Nami tossed the marker back on her teacher's desk and returned to her seat without another word. When she sat back down she pointed at the acronym and nodded.

"And ATP stands for adenosine triphosphate. But I'm sure you were just getting to that part, so, carry on."

And with that, her head clunked back to her desk. The school's number one, most highly acclaimed mind falling back into an almost narcoleptic state like it had never awakened. Kaya stared at her, cheeks flushed and eyes bright with admiration.

_Nami-san is so amazing. I'll have to work harder if I expect to catch up to her._

* * *

><p>Kaya pulled the apron strings tight, adjusted her thin rim glasses and tied up her hair.<p>

_Nami-san isn't here yet. I'll have to start alone. It's up to me._

Quick as lightning, she assembled the ingredients for a basic white cake, her look of determination only growing more intense by the minute. The other girls in the class looked on in amusement, some of them snickering.

"Nami really got lucky having her as a partner," one of them said to another, elbowing a third in the ribs. "She does all of the work herself."

"Alright, alright, all of you get back to work," Hinoka sensei growled, her brown hair swept up in a bun. She took her place behind the demonstration kitchen and glared at Kaya suspiciously.

"Kaya-san, where is your good for nothing partner. She's already nearing the limit for skipping my class. If she doesn't have a good excuse-"

"Nami-san was sent to the principal's office again I'm afraid," the blonde answered, smiling nervously and attempting to crack an egg over the large glass bowl in front of her. It slipped from her fingers and she frantically looked under the sink for some disinfecting wipes to clean the mess.

"Tch. Typical. Bet she smart mouthed Surie-sensei again, eh?"

Kaya nodded and stirred the contents of the bowl together, smiling sadly to herself.

Most teacher's, despite her brilliant mind, did not take kindly to Nami-san and her way of doing things. They didn't like her personality. She always scored the highest on tests, always knew the correct answer to everything. No matter how hard Kaya studied, she always remained second in the standings. All she could hope to do was close that gap between them.

Kaya didn't really mind being second. She did her best and looked up to Nami. She possessed a kind of confidence that Kaya herself only dreamed of harnessing someday. Her friend circle consisted of, well, almost the entire student body. Everyone it seemed knew her personally and liked having her around. She was gorgeous too, with long, fiery hair and an enviably slim waist.

Kaya glanced down at her chest and pouted inwardly, stirring faster. Nami dominated in that area as well.

"Sorry for being late," that familiarly nonchalant voice called from the door.

Greetings from all the girl's at their stations echoed off the brick walls and stainless steel appliances. Kaya turned slightly and offered a sunny smile. Hinoka grunted and went back to washing out a plastic bowl.

"Kaya," Nami said in a friendly tone, removing the pink slip from her forehead and tossing it in a waste basket. She grinned like she might be hiding something. "Guess what."

_Uh-oh. I know that look._

"Nami-san," Kaya said, narrowing her eyes. "I'm hoping you're not about to-"

"I swiped this when the old hag wasn't looking," the red head said slyly, holding up the official looking plaque with Tonagari-sensei's name and position engraved on it. The blonde paled.

"Nami-san! If anyone sees you with that you'll be-"

Nami clapped a gentle hand over her mouth and smushed a finger to her own lips.

"You're only loud when I need you to be quiet," she teased, stuffing the plaque back in her bag and tying up her hair. "So it looks like you've already put everything together."

"Yep. You can put it in the baking pan if you'd like."

Nami did just that, tossing the filled pan in the oven and shrugging.

"Sometimes I wonder how I get through the day I work so hard…"

Kaya giggled and sat down at a table with her classmate. Nami crossed her legs and waved at one of her closer friends in the corner group. She mouthed something to her and laughed. Probably an inside joke.

"Oi, Nami, what the hell, huh? You're already done? You didn't even get here until just now," one girl complained, waving a stick of butter at her angrily. Her partner stuck her tongue out.

"She's partnered with Kaya," another said, shrugging and rolling her eyes. "Of course she's done early. Nami's such a klutz she wouldn't be able to finish that fast with anyone else."

"Hey, now," Nami growled, pounding an irritated fist on the table. Kaya smiled sympathetically.

She found it hard to reassure Nami of anything. She was sure she already had enough self esteem that she really didn't need any encouragement from someone like her. Admittedly, Kaya was quite a bit lower on the popularity scale compared to Nami. But she never treated her that way. And it made her want to try harder.

"Why do we have this class before lunch," Nami's partner in crime, Tsukomi-chan, whined. She patted her stomach and sighed. "I'm supposed to be on a diet, but if I keep eating stuff in here, I'm just going to_ gain_ weight."

"Shut your goddamn mouth," Nami snapped, making fun of her friend and batting her eye lashes like a stereotypical tart. "Diet my ass. I happen to enjoy eating and I don't need you complaining about the food I thank god for everyday."

Kaya repressed a laugh as the two bantered. She pushed her glasses up from her nose and reached in her bag to try to get some studying done before her next class. She bumped the bentou box at the bottom of her bag and blinked.

"Oh, Nami-san, I have your bentou here-"

"KAYA-CHAAA~N," Nami squealed, eyes glittering and hands folded in gratitude. "YOU'RE SO THOUGHTFUL THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU." She grinned and clutched the box Kaya handed to her, glaring at curious onlookers.

"This is my special bentou Kaya-chan makes me. Mind your own goddamn business."

Kaya blushed. Ever since the start of the school year, she had noticed Nami coming to school and eating only an orange every day for lunch. It had started to annoy her, the general lack of thought she put into her meals and how daunting it must be for her health to only eat things like that. Now that she thought about it, it probably looked kind of strange to others; the way they carried on and Kaya constantly did these things for her. She didn't think herself better than anyone else because of the things she did for her. Nami was equal in her friendship's. Kaya was no more, and no less compared to anyone else in her mind.

_That's why I like Nami-san…_

"Kaya, can I eat some of this now?" Nami asked excitedly, lifting the lid a little. Her brown eyes danced and some of her red hair fell in her face.

"I…I don't mind," Kaya answered, smiling warmly and getting up to turn off the oven now that the cake was finished.

_Nami-san shines._


	2. Knight

Nami stood outside the bathroom stall, eating her bentou, drinking a juice box and waiting for Kaya to say something.

"You need to interact with people more, ya know," she said critically, pointing her chop sticks at the mirror like it was Kaya's instead of her own reflection that was looking back. "Shit like this is just going to keep happening if you don't grow some balls and stand up for yourself."

There was no response.

This was the third time this month that Kaya's notes had been stolen from a class, and even though Nami was trying to play the stern suck-it-up-buttercup-and-move-on friend, inside she was fuming.

More than anyone, she knew how hard Kaya worked to get good grades. She never slept in a class. She always paid attention and asked questions if she didn't understand. She was the person everyone should look to for help with something.

Instead, while she was busy helping a substitute teacher figure out where her next class was, some dip shit had taken her sociology notes.

_And with only four weeks till exams…_

The stall opened and Nami nearly spit juice out of her mouth when she saw that…it wasn't Kaya.

"Um…Nami-san, I didn't want to make you feel bad, so, sorry. Though, you sounded cool," the girl said awkwardly, washing her hands and leaving Nami to feel foolish alone.

_I'm…a dumbass…_

* * *

><p>"Here. You can have these back," Tsukomi said coldly, shoving the notebook's back in Kaya's arms. The blonde blinked and pushed her glasses up.<p>

"O-oh. Um…were…were you able to understand the material better after looking at them?"

"Tch. Keep up the goody-goody act, baby cakes. Nami seems to appreciate it," the girl spat, her brown pigtails swaying when she moved forward to sneer at Kaya.

"I…I don't understand."

"You monopolize my best friend's time like you have some kind of privilege. It was cute at first, but it's getting a little ridiculous don't you think? What with the lunches, the cakes, the constant smiles…"

Kaya stared at the floor, flushed with embarrassment and trying to figure out how she should respond to this.

"Nami-san…asked me, so-"

"Of course she asked you. She feels sorry for you because you're too shy to make any real friends. If it were anyone else she wouldn't hang around you nearly as much."

"I'm…I'm sorry," the blonde stuttered, pressing her books tighter to her chest. "I really didn't mean to make you jealous, I wanted-"

Tsukomi's hand struck out, Kaya's books crashing to the floor when the hand made contact with her face.

"Nobody would be jealous of someone like you, someone who spends all her time stuck in her books and using fake incentive to attract people's interest," the brunette said angrily, turning on her heels and stalking down the hall.

"Stay away from Nami."

* * *

><p>"Usopp-san, I really don't want to talk about it," Kaya said softly, going around her room and picking up some of the clothes she'd neglected to take care of earlier before going to school. Usopp followed her around, still in his school uniform and still not letting the subject of where she got the bruise on her face drop.<p>

"Kaya, just because you refuse to conjure up a backbone doesn't mean people aren't going to get pissed when they see this," he moved his hand to cup her face in his palm. She sighed and turned away. He frowned when she went back to cleaning.

"I'm saying this for your own good," he said more gently, plopping down on the floor and giving her a serious look. "I care about you, believe it or not. Even if your parents refuse to talk about how you're treated at school, I can't help but notice it hasn't done much for your self esteem."

"What am I supposed to do," she asked bitterly, throwing the clothes in the hamper, "It's nearing the end of my senior year, and I have exams to study for. I'll be in university next year, so putting up with this for a little longer isn't going to kill me."

Usopp shook his head at her.

"It's offensive to those in the room that love you to hear you say such things."

"Love me? Hardly," she said, laughing lightly. "Luffy-san will get jealous."

"Psh. He hardly even notices me sometimes. I went over to his house the other day and I had to wait for him to finish eating…before we went out to dinner," he said unenthusiastically. Kaya laughed. She loved hearing about Usopp's strange relationship with his boyfriend. His stories always made her laugh.

"We need to find you a man or something," Usopp mumbled, resting his pouting lips in his palm and pointing at her with his other hand. "You're pretty enough. And guys love the innocent girl gig."

"It's not a 'gig', and I doubt my parents would appreciate it if my fiancee went out and tried to find me someone else to be with," she said laughing.

Usopp was the son of a very important man, his business and Kaya's father's often doing joint projects. Since they were children, they had been told they would one day get married, and their engagement had been made official a few years earlier. Unfortunately, Usopp had failed to relay the details of his homosexuality to either side of the presumptive families, and it was getting even harder for them to pretend they were cool with the idea of giving their parents grandchildren someday.

"All I'm saying," Usopp said, waving a hand at her, "is that you need to do something about this. Because if I see one more bruise, or hear another story about how you let someone 'borrow' your notes and that's why you can't study, I'll come over to that school and bust someone's nut."

"There's no nuts at my school, Usopp-san," Kaya joked. "Just peaches."

"I see my genital analogies have left smears on your innocent little mind," he said quirking an eyebrow. "Perhaps we can work on the confidence smears sometime, eh?"

"Perhaps when this year is over," she replied, setting out tea for both of them. "If I can just focus on things, there should be no problem."

Usopp watched her pour the tea and hummed thoughtfully.

"What you need is just some super hot shirtless guy to come riding into your school and scoop you up. And then you can tell me about all the hot sex you guys have."

Kaya laughed loudly. She really loved her best friend's sense of humor.

* * *

><p>The slap resounded through the kitchen, everyone too frozen to do anything but stare in shock at what had just happened.<p>

"Do not associate yourself with me," Nami said coldly, Tsukomi's face returning to where it had been before she'd been slapped. Her eyes were wide with disbelief.

"You didn't even notice these were gone," Nami continued, throwing Tsukomi's apparent notebook to the floor and pressing it down further with her foot. "Considering all the trouble you went to stealing them, you'd think you'd notice when they go missing."

"So what if I copied them from her," Tsukomi cried defensively, holding her face and hinting that she was on the verge of tears. "She LET me."

Nami didn't even look to see if Kaya confirmed that. She simply picked up the notebook and dug a lighter out of her skirt pocket.

"Nami-san!" Hinoka-sensei yelled from across the room, finally coming out from behind the demonstration kitchen, "Lighter's are forbidden on school grounds, and having one is grounds for suspension!"

Nami ignored her and set the notebook on fire, throwing the flaming mess in a sink and watching it burn. She turned back to Tsukomi with hard eyes.

"You're a fool. Nobody in this school is as dedicated as Kaya to her work, and if you had asked her permission to use her notes this would've ended differently."

Tears spilled down Tsukomi's face as Nami went over and defiantly wrote the pink slip for the principle's office for herself. She glanced over at Kaya and let her eyes linger over the cute blush she had going…

"Nobody here has any right to talk to Kaya. None of us."

Kaya watched as Nami held her head high and opened the door to leave.

"Kaya is the only one that shines."


	3. Pleasantries

Kaya sat in the back of the limo, trying to take up the smallest amount of space possible. She really hated having to use it.

"Miss Kaya, I didn't know you were friends with the people who owned this land," the driver called back at her, two sections of seats between them. Kaya sighed heavily, wishing her parents were a little more modest in their purchases, knowing it was impossible because of who they were.

Nami was under suspension until exams, but had asked Kaya the other day if she might want to study with her sometime. So Kaya had shrugged off any insecurity she had been feeling, and was now making the drive through the back country.

"I didn't know Nami-san's family owned this land either until recently," she replied to the driver.

The car pulled through a newly installed gate, the driver briefly conversing with a secretary through the voice box.

Kaya stared out the window in complete awe; on either side of the winding dirt road were grove after grove of orange trees. Up ahead, she noticed a large building where a couple hired hands were going in and out carrying bags of fertilizer.

_I didn't know…Nami-san lived in a place like this…_

The car continued down the road another five minutes until it came up to a house. It wasn't nearly as large as Kaya had imagined it would be, but it was clean looking and the landscaping looked like it had just been done recently.

"Thank you, Gerald," she said, closing the door of the car and speaking to him through the window. "If you could pick me up around four that would be good."

"Will do missy," he said with a tip of his hat and driving back the way he came. Kaya gulped, realizing she was now on her own. She mustered up the courage to walk up and ring the door bell.

There was a yell from inside, and the door abruptly opened to reveal a woman in her mid-twentie's. She had a scary looking tattoo on one side of her body and had dyed her hair purple. All color left Kaya's face when she saw the huge knife in her hand as well.

The woman's eyes widened and she replaced the annoyed look on her face with a smile. "You must be Nami's friend. Sorry 'bout the knife. My ex keeps coming around looking for a loan."

Well. That was comforting.

Kaya was practically dragged into the house while the woman chattered on about where Nami could be when there was a slam from a few rooms away. Nami appeared through the doorway and apparently hadn't bothered to take off her sneakers.

"Yo," she said cheerfully, ignoring the purple haired woman's glare and walking over to Kaya. She was covered in dirt and sweat dripped down her neck.

"What the hell did I tell you about coming into the house with dirt and shit all over you," Kaya's captor growled, flaying her hands dramatically. "Get out of my house, brat."

"This is my sister, Nojiko," Nami said dryly, pointing at her. "Technically we're not blood related. That's why she's such a bitch and I'm not."

Nojiko fumed while Nami pulled Kaya out the back door, grabbing two juice boxes from the kitchen counter on her way out.

* * *

><p>"Nojiko's parents died in a car accident about seven years ago. She's been taking care of this place ever since," Nami said, handing Kaya a pair of gloves and dragging a sapling over to a hole she'd dug earlier.<p>

"She took me in after mine passed away. Our families were good friends. And I didn't like the idea of living with my grandparents…"

Kaya wasn't really sure how to react to such personal information. Nami didn't seem to be upset over sharing it with her, so she just listened until the red-head decided she didn't want to talk anymore.

"So, what's happening with you lately?" Nami asked, packing dirt around the new tree and looking up at the blonde.

Kaya was hesitant at first, but she enjoyed the fact that she and Nami were conversing so openly with each other. She told her about her family, her important parents, her engagement to Usopp…

Nami stiffened and looked at Kaya carefully. "You have a fiancee?"

Kaya nodded. "Yes. It's very complicated, though. He has a boyfriend." She laughed at the strange look her friend gave her.

"So, what are you guys going to do about it?"

"I suppose we'll have to tell everyone eventually. If Usopp-san has no intention of marrying me, the engagement is useless anyway."

"Mm. I suppose so…"

Nami frowned at the ground, then glanced up at Kaya, who was happily watering the trees.

"Do you have…someone you like, too?" she asked carefully. Kaya blinked and paused in her work, blushing a little.

"Well, uh, no. I don't think so?"

Nami narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "That was an awfully wishy-washy answer."

"Well, I don't have many male friends in the first place…"

"Well then," Nami said, pouting to the side like she could care less, "what about…girls?"

Kaya blinked, then raised her eyes to the sky in thought. She didn't want to admit she had thought about such things before, especially in front of her friend (and admittedly, object of such fantasies), but the theme today had been honesty hadn't it?

"I suppose I've considered it," she said. She glanced shyly at Nami. Her face hadn't really changed.

Nami looked at her for a minute, then smiled and got up from the ground. She held out one of the juice boxes to her friend.

"I've never really had friends over before," she admitted, shrugging. "So I'm just gonna make you do whatever I do on the weekend by myself, okay?" She grinned and winked.

"Do you know how to swim, Kaya-chan?"

* * *

><p>"Nami-san," Kaya said witheringly, refusing to step out from behind the bushes, "I can't do this."<p>

"Sure you can. We're both girls. Nobody's around. It's just like taking a bath," Nami said assuredly. She thought for a moment. "Except the water's a bit colder when you first get in."

Kaya tried not to stare at Nami. Her body was practically perfect. Kaya was self conscious to begin with, but swimming naked with her goddess of a friend was where she wanted to draw the line for today. Nami wasn't letting her.

"Just come on," she said, hands on hips and shaking out her hair. "It feels good. And you're all dirty."

"I can take a shower at home…"

"Get out here before I drag you out."

"I really don't think-"

"Just stop thinking, okay?"

Nami tramped through the bush and grabbed Kaya's hand, ignoring her full body blush. She tugged her out to the edge of the dock and turned to face her.

"I know I told you we were going to study, but I don't think that's what you need," Nami said matter-of-factly. "You need to have a little fun, right? You can go back to stressing when you leave me."

"Nami-san, I know you mean well, but I…you're so confident. And smart. And if I don't study I'll fall behind."

"Is that what you think? Then why don't you have some confidence in yourself, huh? You can't even look me in the eye right now…"

Kaya squirmed, trying to think of something to say, then gasped when Nami wrapped her arms around her and squeezed.

"You're like this because so many people make you do things you don't want to. And you're too kind to tell them 'no'."

"Nami-san," Kaya squeaked, trying not to faint. Nami simply moved back a little and tilted her head up so she was looking at her.

"I think you can do whatever you want to do," she declared, searching Kaya's face. "You should be able to do whatever you want to do."

Kaya stared at her, face steaming with embarrassment and, admittedly, slight arousal. Nami smirked, took hold of her hands, and flung her into the water. She laughed from the dock while Kaya whined loudly after coming back up and swimming over.

"It's cold," the blonde said, teeth chattering a little. Nami jumped in after her and waded over with hair in her eyes.

"It gets better in a few minutes, you just have to wait."

Kaya hesitantly picked the hair away from Nami's forehead, sighing with defeat.

"Do you think…I could ever be as bold you, Nami-san?"

"I already told you," she said, searching Kaya's eyes, "I think you can do whatever the hell you want."

Kaya thought for a moment, and then leaned forward to give Nami a shy kiss. Nami hadn't really been expecting it, but accepted it nonetheless.

They pulled apart, and a silence grew between them. Kaya wished the water would swallow her up.

Nami stared at her, knowing what she wanted to do, but not knowing if it would be too much for her. She had already kind of hypocritically forced her into thinking all kinds of crazy things today. But it was all in the right direction, right?

"Hey," Nami said gently, moving closer and tilting her head to fit to Kaya's, "a little bit more is okay, right?"

Kaya tried hard not to moan into the kiss, but she was admittedly a little more sexually frustrated than she was letting on. Nami brought a hand down to her vulva and it immediately became clear to both of them that kissing would not be enough.

"Here," Nami said, grunting and bringing Kaya to sit on the low bank of the pond. She didn't waste time asking what Kaya wanted. She could smell it.

Kaya stared out at the water, shivering with pleasure and rocking into Nami's tongue.

"You're a good girl, Kaya," Nami said gently, the flat of her tongue rubbing the hood of her clit. Unsure fingers couldn't decide if it would be acceptable to grab onto her hair. "You're such a good girl…"

Kaya could feel it; engorged tissue being coaxed into the deepest sense of warmth she'd ever known. And it felt so good. Being with Nami-san…knowing it was Nami-san making her feel this way…

_I'm in love with her._

Her mouth fell open in a silent scream, still too conservative to let go completely. Her eyes rolled up and the tiniest of squirts escaped as Nami moved a finger to press the spongy tissue inside.

"What a good girl," Nami moaned, rubbing the small of her back and licking to clean up the remnants of her orgasm. The lowest of moans escaped her lover's mouth.

"Nami…Nami-san…" she said, falling over so her forehead rested against Nami's upturned one. "I love you so much…"

Nami laughed and brought herself out of the water, kissing Kaya's forehead.

"I think I've wanted to hear that for some time now."

Kaya blinked hazily and collapsed with a sigh into Nami's chest. Nami sat there, petting her head until it was nearly time for her to leave.

_Wait until Usopp-san hears about this one…_


	4. I'll See You Soon

"You know, you hole up in there, and you're just going to be miserable," Usopp called from outside Kaya's room, the blonde busy giving the wall a vacant, tear stained stare.

"I've ruined it, Usopp-san," she quivered, squeezing her pillow to her chest. "I've ruined it."

"It doesn't sound like you ruined anything to me," he muttered, crossing his arms and staring at the door handle. "Open up. You sound pathetic."

"I'm never leaving my room again."

"You need to take your exams. I bet you haven't studied."

"Of course I've been studying," she whimpered, "it's the only thing that will keep my mind off the fact that I…I…"

Usopp waited patiently for her to continue, sighing when all he got was the muffled hiccuping of a girl walking the same path he'd had to only a few short years before.

"I hope you're not crying because you regret what you did."

"Of course I regret it," she wailed. "Nami-san will never want to talk to me again."

"From what I understand, she was also taking part. And I went through your text messages. You haven't replied to anything she's sent you."

Kaya gawked at the door. "You went through my text messages?"

"You're looking at this the wrong way, you know."

There was no answer. Just defiant silence. Usopp wasn't used to this kind of Kaya; shriveled up and feeling sorry for herself. Actually, no. To make this an official part of her character it would take much more than one mental breakdown over a high school girl. This was probably just…her breaking point. Usopp could recognize a comrade knee deep in conflict with himself when he saw it. Part of him felt some responsibility.

But seriously, this was not good. Every day for the past two weeks, she'd dragged herself home from school, practically a ghost, and cried in her room under the pretense that she was studying. Poor thing couldn't even let herself go, even under this kind of emotional stress.

_Well, at least that means I can reason with her._

"You know, if you like her, you shouldn't deny yourself any contact with her," he said, finally deciding to test the door knob. As he thought: she hadn't even locked the door. He smiled.

"I'm the worst. Nami-san went to all the trouble of trying to encourage me, and all I did was make a bigger fool of myself." Her tears had carved cracked, red, painful looking river beds into her cheeks. Usopp sat beside her blanket encapsulated figure and patted her head.

"Are you crying because you don't think you should be able to feel that way about her?" he asked, handing her a tissue. She blew and sniffed, not looking him in the eye.

"I wondered what might be wrong with me when I first started liking Luffy," he continued. "Nobody else liked guys, and I cried a lot before I finally decided to tell him and move on with my life."

She blinked at him and giggled a little. "That's a lie, Usopp-san. You told me Luffy-san kissed you before you could tell him."

"Details, details. Yeah, he took the initiative. But the point is, whatever gets you to point B, you know? Don't regret something that made you happy."

Kaya sniffed again and crumpled a new tissue. "I just wish we might've talked more. I'm really not sure about what this means now."

"I for one applaud men and women of action," he said flatly. "Letting you talk yourself out of it probably would've ruined everything like you keep saying."

"I almost did," she admitted. "Nami-san believes in me, and she told me I can do whatever I want."

"Because you _can_," he emphasized, shaking his head. "When are _you, _for_ yourself_, going to realize you can have whatever you want? That poor girl is probably waiting for you to confirm that her own feelings aren't being taken advantage of."

Kaya dabbed her eyes and shook her head. "The last thing I want is that. Especially after all she did for me."

"Then what's stopping you, huh?" he asked, grinning. "You should call her."

"Her suspension is finished after this weekend," she said softly. "I'd feel better talking to her in person."

"Then at least call her and tell her that," he advised, kissing the top of her head and lifting himself off the bed. "I'll make the tea. You wash your face or something."

She didn't protest and stared at her cell phone, smiling a little as she dialed Nami's number.

_I hope she can forgive me. Even if I've been stupid and she wants to go back to the way things were…even if she doesn't even want to be friends anymore…_

Long silences accompanied the dial tone, her heart sinking more with every second the phone was not picked up.

And then it soared when she heard a voice ask tentatively, "Hello?" Her look changed to confusion when she didn't recognize the owner of the voice.

_"Kaya-chan? Is that you? This is Nojiko."_

"N-Nojiko-san, how are you? Is Nami alright? I'm…I'm a bit confused. This is Nami-san's phone, right?" Kaya immediately felt herself go cold. "She's not hurt is she?"

There was some laughter, and then some enthusiastic reassurance. _"No, no, she's perfectly fine. Better than fine, really. She left me her phone while she's in California."_

Kaya froze up. "…California?"

Nojiko was silent for a moment before she muttered a conclusive, _"Ah. I see. That's why she was so upset."_

"Nojiko-san, what do you mean? Nami-san isn't here?"

_"She was offered a job as a researcher at one of the larger producer's in the states. She took the college entrance exam's early, and we've been in contact for some time. They know she's very capable. She's been thinking about working there for a few years now."_ The older woman's voice grew softer, _"She couldn't get ahold of you when she got the request that she go spend a few months interning before deciding if she would take the official position."_

Kaya fingered the sheets around her, trying not to let her voice quaver. "I…I see. How long," her voice broke a little, "how long before she comes back?"

_"Four months. They want to let her get used to the country. She's told me she'll write, but she's only been gone about three days…"_

Three days. That last cryptic text message…

_I'll see you soon, Kaya._

_"I can call you if you like,"_ Nojiko offered, hearing some sniffling on the other end, _"when the letter's arrive, of course."_

"Might I…request the mailing address?"

_"Of course. Here…"_

Usopp watched from the door with the tea as Kaya wrote down the address and closed her phone, seeing her visibly cave within herself and shake with self pity.

"I'm an idiot, Usopp-san."


	5. Forever Yours

**A/N:** _See, I do eventually finish things. :S Hopefully you like the ending to this one. I honestly think it's one of my favorites. I didn't really pile on the deep thinking. Thanks for reading!_

* * *

><p><strong>Some months later…<strong>

—

_Dear Nami-san…_

_—_

One of the things Kaya always marveled at when the season came around was the strange sense of disappointment the fallen, browning cherry blossom petals brought her. They floated lazily in the puddles that dotted the walkways and were pushed into thick little mounds where the concentrations were larger. They were beautiful to look at when they were falling, but once they had, they became just another piece of the perpetual growth and death cycle.

She ought not be so sad for them. It seemed silly to dwell on it, especially since she had more work to do than was probably comfortably done by the average person—but she could hardly consider herself an average person now, could she.

"Kaya-san!"

She waved to a group of her peers, all four in their second year of study at Todai, a year ahead of her. One of them hollered over, asking if she wanted to join them at a café for coffee. Her smile was just as shy as it probably would have been last year when she graduated from high school, but aside from her modesty, a lot had changed. She caught sight of her ride and hollered a cheerful goodbye to them with a shake of her head.

—

…_I know you've been busy, and I wouldn't blame you if you've been throwing these away as I send them, but this will be my last letter. I promise. After this, I think I'll be able to let it go. It's been so long since that time. Nojiko-san told me you wanted to stay in America longer. I hope it isn't just because of what happened between us. Although, that's probably much too presumptuous of me…_

_—_

Usopp waved from the car a few yards off, urging her to go faster lest she be stopped by another one of her fans. As he predicted, she advanced much too slowly with all of the books in her hands and was approached by a tall brunette walking off the branching sidewalk. From far away, she seemed excited, her pretty blue eyes gazing at Kaya while she spoke with a grin on her face. She looked like a foreigner. Kaya politely pointed out her ride, the girl giving a final sad smile and waving as the blonde booked it over the pavement.

"Miss International Superstar," Usopp grunted, arms moving to take the top few books from her arms and throw them in the back seat like they'd been fished out of a sewer. "Honestly, it was nice at first, like I was happy you were getting so much attention, but now I'm just scared you're going to run off with the first bimbo that coax's you out of your footie pajamas and leave me behind."

"Not possible," she laughed, sweeping over the hood of the car and jumping into the front seat. "I have too much studying to do over break."

"Right. Or you just need something to distract you from all the interviews everyone keeps trying to schedule you for…"

"You said you were proud of me," she whined, pouting at him. He tugged at her bottom lip and smirked.

"You're finally using lip gloss, so yes, I am."

"I only did one TV interview," she huffed with her hands up. "What's done is done, and I have no regrets."

"Well I'm glad everyone is being so supportive of The Girl Who Came Out At The Ceremony," he said jokingly. She shrugged.

"It's only because I scored highest on the testing and had to give that speech. Otherwise I wouldn't have done it."

"Well, you inspired a nation, and I can finally let my flames grow higher now that my parents know the nature of my pyre," he rhymed, earning an eye roll from his best friend.

—

…_I told you I got the highest test scores a while ago, and that I finally came clean about my feelings to my family…and the rest of the country…but it became a big deal here, and I'm handling it in the best way I can. I don't know if you saw my interview, but if you didn't, I want to say something…_

_—_

"But…you still haven't heard anything?" he asked quietly after they'd gotten onto the road, her straightened hair blowing with the wind through her cracked window. She gave him a sad smile.

"No. Nojiko-san gives me updates when they come, but none of the letters say anything about me…and we're both busy, so…"

"How often do you send letters?"

"I send one about once a month now. I stopped sending them every week like over the summer when I didn't get replies."

Usopp sighed exaggeratedly and leaned over his steering wheel. "I'm sure it's not her being cruel, Kaya, but…I don't really know what to make of that. Luffy and I don't talk much, but that idiots too easy-come-easy-go in the first place. Our relationship thrives on mutual understanding of our laziness."

"Well, our relationship…it wasn't really like that to begin with," she muttered lightly, watching the trees flash past her window.

—

…_You were the best thing that ever happened to me. You were a real friend, and even though I didn't really give a lot of anything someone like you could want, you loved me, and that was the best anyone's ever done for anybody, I think. I know that whatever you do and wherever you go, you'll find people just like me who cherish your smile…your sunshine…the way you make things grow. I've changed, and I know it's all because of you…_

_—_

The drive was quick, though Kaya knew it couldn't have been. Four hours in a fairly silent car had made her a little dreary from what Usopp could tell, though he'd tried to give her plenty of prompting. He shooed her into the house ahead, and went back to get her luggage.

"Kaya!" her mother called from another room. "Welcome home!"

"Hi, kaa-chan," she said as cheerfully as she could. Her mother kept speaking, but she didn't feel like listening to any rambling right when she'd gotten home. She stole an orange from the sack on the granite counter and peeled it as she walked up the stairs, vaguely tuning in to something her mother was saying about someone visiting…

—

…_I will keep growing, because I know that is what you would want me to do. I know that wherever you are, you really just want me to do my best and try not to cling to you…_

_—_

"Kaya."

She froze, half a fruit wedge between her teeth and one foot in the door to her room.

—

…_If someday I could see your smile again…_

—

Nami's brown eyes peered over at her from the bed, grinning face framed by her burnt sienna hair and long fingers. Her arms were propped on her knees, as if she had been waiting there for hours.

Kaya felt her face swell with blushing, unbelieving and whirling within her mind. Was she just supposed to accept this? After so many months without correspondence? Nami was just sitting in her room?

She then spied the huge stack of letters on the floor in front of her, tied together with a pretty gold ribbon.

—

…_I think that would be the best day of my life…and I would tell you exactly what you meant and still mean to me…_

_—_

Seeing Kaya wasn't going to find the words after about a minute staring at each other, Nami picked up the letters, put them in her lap and nodded at her.

"I want you to read them all to me. With your voice. I want to hear your voice."

She set them aside, strode over to Kaya's frozen figure and leaned over while taking her feverish face in her hands.

With a mumbled, "And to everything you wrote, this is my reply," she bit the exposed half of the orange piece and kissed her. It was returned through hiccupping and a longing neither of them would probably ever be able to properly explain.

—

…_Forever …_

—

Kaya choked, burying her hands in Nami's hair, her lips ghosting near her ear.

—

…_Yours…_

—

"I am yours."

—

_Kaya_

_—_


End file.
